Western Australia

Western Australia was a wonderful and easy trip to make from Singapore. We got in after midnight on Monday and took a shuttle to our hotel/motel near the airport. Got up in the a.m. and got a taxi back to the International terminal to pick-up or rental car. Perth has 2 airports a domestic and an international and they aren’t next door to each other, who knew? As luck would have it our rental car was at the domestic terminal. We had to pay a taxi to take us there and I had a not so friendly conversation with the travel agency. In the end we got upgraded to a little SUV and after wasting 1.5 hours were on our way. We were in luck a new highway had just opened in September and we easily got on it and started heading south towards Margaret River & wine country. We made a lunchtime stop in the quaint town of Mandurrah. We had an hour long boat tour of the canals, estuary and million plus dollar homes along the waterway. Walked around the waterfront and had a nice lunch before continuing south.

We arrived in Margaret River at 5:01 pm. & everything was CLOSED. I mean everything. We had no map (rental car place did not have maps to hand out/ what’s up with that?) and no cell phone (mobile phone as people on this side of the world call them) reception. As luck would have it some kind tourists let us use their phone to call our inn keeper and ask for directions. We found our way to Margaret River Waterfall Cottages and spied several “mobs” of kangaroos (kangaroos travel in mobs/groups). Our cottage was cute on the outside and modest on the inside. The grounds were wonderful! We took a quick walk before dark and saw several kangaroos, especially a very large male! Amazing, the roos in Australia are like the whitetail deer in the USA. Literally everywhere and you must be careful not to hit them. Made me think of Sparta, NJ and the bazillion deer we had there!

Tuesday I booked us an all day scenic and winery tour. Rick was pleased not to have to drive & I was even more pleased not to have to ride with him! Yes, the Aussie’s drive on the opposite side of the road and car as we do. I won’t tell you how many curbs Rick bumped into. Let’s just say I was very patient…..YES I was !!! but closed my eyes a lot . Adam our driver took us to a Lake Cave where we saw some great stalactites & stalagmites. It was not for the faint of heart as there were over 200 stairs to walk down into the cave & back up (killer). After that we toured the Marri, Karri & Jarrah forests in the area. The Marri & Karri are gum trees and the Jarrah is like mahogany. We visited Surfers Point and saw the beautiful Indian Ocean. We then went to Voyager Estate Winery and had a marvelous lunch & tasting. We toured 3 other wineries, had a barrel tasting at Moss Brothers, then visited a cheese factory & chocolate factory.

Wednesday day Rick drove us down to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, where the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet. Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is the longest lighthouse in Australia. We also toured Jewell Cave; thankfully it did not have as many steps as Lake Cave. We had a picnic lunch along the shore with the lighthouse in view. Beautiful! Last we stopped at the Augusta Historical Museum & visited the Colonial Brewing Co, tasted some great and some not so great beer. While driving to our cottage Rick was amazed to see a Kookaburra sitting in a gum tree. NO lie he was sitting there plain as day. Later we did hear his unique call. Anyone remember the Barney song “Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree”?

By the 2nd day with no cell or internet service and the streets rolling up at 5:00 p.m. every day I was getting a bit antsy. We did enjoy watching some American TV shows that we don’t get in Singapore and had two amazing meals at the Arc of Iris resutrant in Margaret River. Love BYOB restaurants! We had to go out and buy jackets, although it was summer the Margaret River area is cool in the evenings and there was no humidity. What a pleasant change from Singapore!


Thursday we got up early and drove north to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse. We hiked around the lighthouse and saw the devastating damage caused by a brush fire a year ago. Brush fires are a real danger in WA. We were able to tour the inside of the lighthouse and had great views of the Indian Ocean. We continued north and pulled over for lunch on a lovely deserted beach. By 3:00 p.m. we were at our friends Deborah & Kelvin Bray’s. They live in a pretty suburb SW of Perth. We met while living in Guangzhou, China and have stayed in touch these past 11 years. Their son Morgan was a friend & classmate of Lindsay at the American International School Guangzhou. Kelvin drove us all around the suburbs and through the port city of Fremantle. Fremantle hosted the 1987 American’s Cup. We ended our stay at a restaurant on the river in Claremont; a dolphin swam right up to the window as we were eating!

Our impressions of WA: BEAUTFUL, dry vegetation, not crowded, people love to be outdoors walking, boating, kite surfing, biking etc. Abundant waterways and breathtaking views of the ocean. Deserted beaches, CLEAN, hardly any trash anywhere!! Great quality of life with most people coming home from work at 5:00 and spending time with family. WOW the American’s could sure learn a few things from the Aussie’s  We’d go back in a heartbeat!